Outdoor time is healing

Epidemiological studies from the United Kingdom and Sweden link sun exposure with reduced all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality. 

~ Richard B. Weller

Almost all life on Earth is solar-powered. 

The days are getting shorter and darker. Many of us want to stay warm and cozy inside. However, getting outdoors not only helps adapt to the cold but also optimizes overall health and function

“Sun phobia” — the modern-day fear of unprotected sun exposure — has quietly come to hurt us in many ways, including the following:

1. Vitamin D deficiency:  Today, 1 in 5 Canadian kids and 1 in 3 adults are vitamin D-deficient with susceptibility to weaker bones, autoimmune flare-ups, infection, increased risk of MS, Type 1 Diabetes and many cancers.  Normally, the body is capable of manufacturing and storing enough vitamin D during the spring, summer and fall months to last through the winter. 

2. Mental-health crisis: Sunlight on the retina triggers the release of feel-good chemicals (endorphins and serotonin) in the brain. Lack of sun exposure increases rates of major depression, anxiety and other neurological conditions in high-latitude winters.

3. Increased rates of heart disease and strokes: Sunlight produces nitric oxide, which dilates blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. Lack of sun exposure not only increases predisposition to cardiovascular disease but also suppresses satiety signals; therefore, we stay hungry and are more likely to overeat.

4. Poor vision: Two hours of outdoor time per day reduces nearsightedness in children by ~50%. This effect is tied to light intensity, not vitamin D production. Outdoor light, even on a cloudy day, is a lot more intense than indoor light.

The sun isn’t trying to kill us, but chronic avoidance may be

The improvements from sunlight exposure on mood and other health conditions are hard to argue with.

~ Charles Garven, MD

Our grandchildren spend a lot of time playing outdoors. Surprisingly, we have observed that even without sunscreen, when they have spent more time in the sun than we perceived to be safe, they have not experienced sunburn. 

I do not recommend prolonged, unprotected sun exposure, especially for the very young and those who are deficient in nutrients. The food we eat and other lifestyle choices we make can definitely be protective or increase vulnerability. 

With minimal sugar consumption, a variety of clean, colourful fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats (I include black seed oil), we can experience robust natural protection against photoaging and other damaging effects from the sun’s rays.

To avoid harm from prolonged sun exposure, check out the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep for full-spectrum clean sunscreens.

In Northern countries, twenty minutes of winter sun and daily consumption of cod-liver oil have helped prevent many of the harmful conditions described above.

Consider the following:

The scurvy of the twenty-first century is a lack of sunlight.

~ Dr. Roger Seheul

1. 10-30 minutes of sun on arms and legs (without sunscreen) is enough to store up to 10,000 IU of vitamin D in the summer. Do it 3 to 4 times per week.

2. If you burn in less than 15 minutes, start with 5 minutes and build.

3. Step outside first thing in the morning to synchronize the production of cortisol (the wake-up hormone) and melatonin (the sleep hormone) with the natural light/dark cycles.

4. Glass blocks UVB, the ultraviolet rays that produce vitamin D — step outside.